


But I still wake up

by kindlewindle



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-11-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:40:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25917466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kindlewindle/pseuds/kindlewindle
Summary: Aone and Hinata never met in high school - district lines were redrawn just before the Karasuno first years started so Date Tech was no longer in the same division.Years pass, and Aone is a lonely adult out at a gay club when a man with orange hair walks in. Fast forward to sex and hand-holding, and Aone thinks the relationship is going pretty well. That is, until Hinata says he's going to Tokyo for a few weeks for a "business trip" and Aone sees him on T.V. playing volleyball with the Japanese Men's Team at the OLYMPICS.Might've been a useful piece of information to know about the guy that he's been seeing exclusively for the past few months.
Relationships: Aone Takanobu/Hinata Shouyou
Comments: 10
Kudos: 81





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've hopped on this rarepair train and I'm not getting off until it crashes.
> 
> Please note: the Explicit rating is for later chapters (hehehe).
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters.

Takanobu’s nipples itched. This sweater that Futakuchi had forced him to wear was unbearable. Sure, it showed off how ripped his arms and chest were but god at what cost? Also, it was really fucking hot wearing a sweater in a club.

The pale giant raised his glass to his lips, savoring the sharp tangs of flavor from his cocktail. Futakuchi had taunted him for it, but Takanobu liked sweet things, so what was the problem? His friend could have all the flat beer to himself.

A heavy bass pulsed around Takanobu, rattling his glass against his teeth. “A.byss” was the hottest new gay club in town, but Takanobu wasn’t really here of his own volition. He probably would’ve come by _eventually_ (no you wouldn’t have, Futakuchi had deadpanned earlier that evening). But it was Hiroko’s friend’s birthday, and the birthday girl had wanted to bring all of her women-loving friends out with her. Futakuchi, sensing an opportunity to make Takanobu’s life miserable, had begged his girlfriend for a week before she finally caved and asked her friend if her “man and his pal” could tag along. Futakuchi had broken the news to him Friday evening. Now it was Saturday night and Takanobu could’ve been home _asleep_ but instead he was sitting at a loud and slightly smelly club with itchy nipples. At least the cocktail was good.

Across the table Futakuchi and Hiroko had evidently wrapped up whatever whispered conversation that they were having. Futakuchi leaned back in his chair, blowing his girlfriend a kiss as she bounced off to head upstairs to the lesbian-oriented portion of the club.

Behind Futakuchi’s shoulder, Takanobu noticed some plain-looking guy roll his eyes at the display. Takanobu leaned over, locking eyes with the man and giving him his most unimpressed glare. The guy paled, slopped his drink down his front, and sidled off. Fuck people like that, Takanobu thought to himself, crossing his thick arms across his chest. Futakuchi and Hiroko were both bisexual, they had just as much right to be at A.byss as any other queer person.

After the guy had scampered off, Takanobu turned his gaze back to Futakuchi, quickly realizing his friend was laughing at him. He raised his eyebrows (or at least, where they would be) in silent question.

“Takanobu you’re literally going to scare off every eligible bachelor at this bar if you keep up that glaring.” Futakuchi chuckled, taking another swig of his beer.

Takanobu frowned.

“That face isn’t a good one either,” Futakuchi teased.

Takanobu frowned deeper.

“Alright come on, now you’re just giving me a hard time.”

Takanobu nodded.

“Asshole!” Futakuchi laughed.

Takanobu cracked a small smile and took another sip of his drink.

“It’s just that,” Takanobu started, Futakuchi leaning in to hear his deep voice over the din of the music. The DJ had switched to something that involved a lot of sirens.

“It’s hard to find people that aren’t scared of me on sight.” Takanobu sighed, setting his glass down gingerly on the sticky table.

Across from him, Futakuchi looked contemplative. “You’ve gotta give yourself a chance by putting yourself out there though, man. You’re an interesting guy and you’ve got a big heart; you just need to be not so afraid of showing it!”

Takanobu looked down at where he had once again crossed his arms over his chest. It would be nice to have someone like Futakuchi did Hiroko… Takanobu was 26 years old and he had never had a real long-term relationship. He got lonely sometimes.

“Aannddd…” Futakuchi continued, leaning over to leer at Takanobu from across the table. The man couldn’t say something serious without also making a joke.

“You’re built like a tank, who wouldn’t want a piece of that action for a night?” Takanobu rolled his eyes at that, causing Futakuchi to bust out laughing.

Although, Takanbobu mused as he looked down at his crossed arms, his annoying childhood friend did have a point.

Futakuchi had been right, the sweater showed off his physique _extremely_ well and, if he was being a bit proud, his forearms looked damn good with the material rolled up over them.

Futakuchi must have noticed Takanobu checking himself out, because he chuckled again.

“Seriously Takanobu, my girlfriend is off somewhere getting smashed and I’m the DD for like half of this group of girls tonight; let me be your wingman!” Futakuchi said, a small fire in his eyes.

Takanobu sighed. Who was he to deny his friend a good night? Besides, if things got too awkward he could just walk home; his apartment was only a few blocks away.

“Alright.” Takanobu agreed.

Futakuchi grinned. “Great! Because there’s a group of guys over there and the little redhead looks just like your type.”

Takanobu turned so abruptly in his seat he almost tipped over. _Redhead?_ He was in dangerous territory already.

He identified the guy Futakuchi had noticed almost immediately. His hair wasn’t red, it was pretty much orange. And (oh no, Takanobu thought) he was _short_.

The man was facing away from him which meant that Takanobu noticed his hair, his height, and his ass in that order. Each took Takanobu’s breath away in their own special manner. He distantly heard the screech of metal against a wooden floor and then:

“Futakuchi. Wait-!” Takanobu strained, stomach leaping to his throat. His friend was walking toward the group, he was going to say _hello_. Fucking hell, Takanobu was absolutely screwed.

Takanobu clamored out of his chair, almost knocking some poor guy over as he hurried to Futakuchi. This had happened once before and that time Futakuchi, the bastard, had _pointed him out to a group of men_ while he was left looking at them stupidly from all the way across the room. If Futakuchi was going to make a fool of him, Takanobu was at least going to be present when he did it.

Futakuchi was already laughing with the group by the time Takanobu got to him. That damn man could talk to anyone.

There was a serious-looking dark-haired guy who had the stature of an impressive athlete, another dark-haired man with a content smile on his face as he leaned into a reedy blond with glasses who was even taller than Takanobu, and a small blonde woman with a cheerful grin who didn’t look at all put off by the tall men crowding around her.

And then there was the redhead.

If Takanobu thought he was in too deep before, he was definitely making his way to an early grave now.

Head thrown back and a muscled arm propped up loosely on the bar behind him, the redhead came out of his laughter just in time to lock eyes with Takanobu. The man’s eyes were _liquid amber_.

Takanobu was going to explode.

“And here’s my friend Aone Takanobu!” Futakuchi exclaimed as Takanobu approached.

Takanobu exchanged polite greetings with everyone – Kageyama, Yamaguchi, Tsukishima, Yachi – and:

“I’m Hinata Shouyou, nice to meet you, Aone-san!” the redhead ( _Hinata_ ) grinned brightly, extending his hand to shake with Takanobu.

Takanobu’s heart stuttered and then suddenly his bear paw of a hand was enveloping Hinata’s completely, sparks zinging up his arm and throughout his body as they made contact. Hinata’s palms were warm and slightly calloused. What did he do for a living, Takanobu wondered?

And god… those _eyes_. He couldn’t stop looking at them. Hinata blinked once, golden lashes brushing against soft cheeks.

Takanobu must have held on just slightly too long because Futakuchi coughed next to him. Takanobu whipped his hand back to his side, holding his arms there awkwardly – he had forgotten his cocktail back at the table.

“I was just asking these guys what brought them here tonight,” Futakuchi said easily, diverting attention from Takanobu’s awkward interaction.

“We’re having our first high school reunion!” Yachi smiled, glancing up at her taller counterparts.

“Very nice!” Futakuchi said. “How did you all meet? I’m just curious because there seems to be a lot of different personalities going on in this group.”

The friends laughed, Hinata letting out a chuckle that did… something to Takanobu’s insides.

“We were all members of our high school volleyball team. We were all first years and it’s been a while since everyone has been able to get together,” Yamaguchi answered, unwinding himself from Tsukishima’s arms.

Volleyball? Finally, a way for him to engage in the conversation, Takanobu thought. “Where did you go to high school,” he asked.

“Karasuno,” the group answered in unison. Impressive, Takanobu mused. Even after all these years they were still operating on the same wavelength; Karasuno must have been a pretty close-knit team.

Futakuchi suddenly snapped his fingers. “I know that name! You guys placed second at nationals, right?” he asked excitedly.

Yachi nodded. “We sure did! And, as their former manager, I just want to say again that I’m so proud of you all,” she giggled, pretending to wipe fake tears from her eyes.

“Aww Yachi-chan, you were the best manager ever!” Hinata wailed, throwing his arms around the tiny blonde.

His tight shirt rode up on his back, showing off a smooth strip of skin. Takanobu swallowed.

Yamaguchi laughed while Kageyama and Tsukishima both rolled their eyes. Apparently these were common antics.

Futakuchi glanced at Takanobu, smiling. “Yo Aone, you going to get another drink?” he asked.

Takanobu blinked. He had completely forgotten about his long-gone cocktail. But he was kind of missing it now as everyone else nursed their own drinks.

“Hey Aone-san, do a shot with me!” Hinata exclaimed, eyes sparkling as he pulled away from Yachi. Takanobu gulped. There was no way he could resist the eagerness in those amber orbs. He nodded.

“Great!” Hinata turned back to the bar, leaning over the tall counter in excitement. This made his hips pop back just ever so slightly… Takanobu narrowly avoided scrubbing a hand down in his face. He needed to stop ogling this man _right in front of all of his friends_.

Takanobu sidled up to stand next to Hinata, acutely aware of just how warm the small body was next to his own large figure.

Behind him, Takanobu was aware that Futakuchi had started up some conversation with the rest of the group. Well, with Yamaguchi and Yachi at least – the other two men weren’t so talkative.

The music had changed to a deep thrum as more people moved to the dance floor. It was past midnight, so things were starting to get rowdy.

“What position did you play,” Takanobu heard himself say. Woah, where the hell had that bravery come from? He was not usually the one to initiate conversations.

“Huh?” Hinata asked, looking up at Takanobu. The tall man blanched.

“In volleyball,” Takanobu managed to get out. Was it too sudden of a question?

“Oh! Sorry, my attention gets away from me sometimes,” Hinata admitted bashfully, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. “I was a middle blocker!” the redhead exclaimed, standing up proudly.

Takanobu’s confused expression must have shown too obviously on his face, because Hinata laughed and continued on.

“I know, I know, it doesn’t seem likely with the height. But I can jump pretty well!” he explained, turning to angle his body more toward the taller man.

Takanobu nodded. “I was a middle blocker too,” he said.

Hinata's grin was dazzling; Takanobu couldn’t get enough of it.

“I’m sure we could’ve had a pretty good matchup if we had ever played each other!” Hinata said.

Takanobu felt his lips quirk up. “Yes, I agree.” He paused. “Do you still play?” he asked.

An odd look flitted across Hinata’s face. “Ah, from time to time,” he said, turning quickly back to face the bar.

The bartender swung by at that point, filling up their shot glasses with top shelf tequila. Hinata waved him off when Takanobu offered to pay.

“Yamaguchi’s a software developer and he just signed a deal for the launch of some app that he designed. Drinks are on him tonight,” Hinata winked.

Takanobu’s heart jumped at the small gesture.

Hinata raised his glass. “To new friends!” he exclaimed, smiling brightly.

Takanobu felt his face pink and nodded, knocking back the shot to hide his blush. The tequila burned going down his throat, and a warmth quickly blossomed in his chest.

“Alright!” Hinata said loudly, setting his empty glass back on the counter. He looked up at Takanobu imploringly, and then said something that Takanobu knew would only lead to trouble for him down the line.

“Do you want to go dance with me?”

Takanobu met those amber eyes again. There was music thudding around them and loud cheers from the background, the clink of empty glasses against tabletops. Hinata just waited, chin tilted up and a small smile on his face, orange hair illuminated even in the dim lighting.

Finally, Takanobu nodded.

Hinata grinned widely, cheeks pink as he grabbed Takanobu’s hand and led him to the dance floor.

The warmth didn’t disappear from Takanobu’s chest.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is short! I'm flying by the seat of my pants with this story TBH I've got the most basic outline and I'm just rolling with it.

Hinata, Takanobu quickly realized, was an abysmal dancer. Like, _really_ bad.

The poor guy was all uncoordinated limbs and bouncing around the dance floor, bumping into anybody within a four-foot radius. At least most of the people here were too drunk to care. Hinata must have been an absolute menace on the volleyball court if his clumsiness translated over to his athletic skills.

Takanobu wasn’t the worst dancer around; when he had been younger (and much shorter) his parents had forced him into dance classes for a few years. He had gotten pretty good at it, but once he hit the infamous Aone growth spurt he quickly swapped out his tap shoes for sneakers. Still, the lessons remained, and while Takanobu never liked drawing too much attention to himself, he never felt uncomfortable dancing casually, even in a crowded public space.

Still, for all of the excessive movement and the jumping and the all-around flailing, Hinata was _cute_.

The redhead’s dangerous movements meant that there was a nice little circle of open space on the dance floor, just enough room between them to still be close but not _too_ close. Around them, Takanobu noticed more than a few men getting very frisky with one another (oh god, did that guy just stick that other guy’s fingers in his mouth?!).

Takanobu liked the space. He didn’t always like to… touch, when he first met somebody. Beyond a friendly handshake, at least. Not because he didn’t like it, but because sometimes he got too scared to touch… what if he hurt someone?

Those couple of years after his growth spurt had been trying for the previously average-sized kid; more than once, Takanobu had accidentally sprained somebody’s wrist or even (most horrifyingly) knocked out someone’s tooth simply because he didn’t have a full understanding of his new strength.

Although, he mused as Hinata spun in some wild circle, Hinata’s proving himself as a dancing disaster made Takanobu feel that much better. If anybody was getting his toes stepped on it was his giant pale ass, not the comparatively diminutive man bopping around in front of him.

Besides, Takanobu thought to himself as Hinata shook his arms and hips – off beat – next to him, if Hinata _had_ wanted to dance more closely, like so many of the men around them, that would have been very nerve-wracking territory indeed.

Hinata was so confident and so vibrant; Takanobu knew that the little redhead could have anybody he wanted. If he had tried to dance with Takanobu but then decided to move on to somebody else – somebody _better_ – well, that would hurt. But it wasn’t like it hadn’t happened before.

Takanobu shook his head to try and dispel such negative thoughts. It had been hard, in high school and college, watching all of his friends fall in and out of love and have so many experiences that he desperately wanted to have too. It wasn’t until after university that Takanobu really started to work on addressing his lack of confidence. Sure, he had it on the court growing up, but that didn’t mean such feelings transferred into every aspect of his personal life. He was a big guy in a city of shorter people. And he was shy.

He was in a better place now though. Takanobu glanced down as Hinata accidentally bumped his side again. He allowed himself a mental pat on the back. A _much_ better place: there was no way even a couple of years ago that he would have ever agreed to dance with the little fireball that was Hinata Shouyou.

Noticing his gaze, Hinata beamed up at Takanobu, sidling in closer as he grabbed Takanobu’s arm and used it to pull his own muscled appendage above his crown of orange hair. Takanobu’s breath hitched. What was - oh, Hinata wanted Takanobu to spin him.

The taller man pursed his lips in what was almost a smile, allowing Hinata a slow twirl as the music continued pulsing steadily around them.

It shouldn’t have caught him off guard when Hinata tripped over his own feet mid-spin, falling back into Takanobu’s broad chest. He was laughing as Takanobu’s caught in his chest. He could smell Hinata’s shampoo: something with lavender.

Takanobu wanted to bury his face in that orange hair.

He almost did, his face lowering until Hinata tilted his chin up, still with that dazzling grin on his face. Takanobu was an idiot, now his face was even closer to Hinata’s and oh wow, the redhead _had_ to feel Takanobu’s heart nearly beating out of his chest against the back of his head.

They had stopped dancing completely as other bodies gyrated around them, Hinata gazing into pale green eyes with a bright smile and his own warm brown orbs. Soft pink lips parted, a ghost of a breath caressing Takanobu’s face.

“I’m having a good time,” Hinata said, voice low but so clear to Takanobu even with the din of noise around them.

Takanobu smiled and he _saw_ Hinata’s eyes jump to his lips, tipping his head back just slightly as the taller man agreed with a rumble of “Me too.”

Time slowed, then, Hinata’s smile was waning as his eyelids lowered, tilting his head back to expose the smooth column of a pale neck. Takanobu realized his arms had dropped to Hinata’s hips, ostensibly to steady the shorter man against his taller frame.

But now Takanobu was pulling Hinata’s warm body closer, leaning down as his own eyelids lowered in turn: he could feel those strong back muscles against his own chest, a firm ass pressed just barely against his hips; he could smell the remnants of the tequila shot on Hinata’s breath…

Sirens went off in Takanobu’s head. Wait, no, that was the music again. And then–

“Aone!” someone shouted over the din. The two jerked apart so fast that Takanobu’s chin just barely missed getting brained on Hinata’s forehead.

Looking up toward the source of the cry, Takanobu saw Futakuchi politely forcing his way through the crowded dance floor, looking more than a little flustered.

“Hey man,” he called out as he approached the two. Takanobu had been friends with Futakuchi long enough to tell that he was pissed just by the tone of his voice.

“Hiroko’s trying to handle one of the girls upstairs but it’s not going too well – either she did three extra shots without anybody knowing or somebody spiked her drink,” Futakuchi grimaced, rubbing his hand against his chin in irritation.

Takanobu frowned deeply.

“Not okay,” he said.

Futakuchi snorted in agreement. “Yeah, definitely not. Hiroko wants to get her somewhere safe and I agree. I think it’s best we all call it a night, but I need some help wrangling these drunk lesbians,” Futakuchi sighed.

Takanobu nodded. “I will come help,” he said.

Futakuchi gave him a small smile, turning to push his way back through the crowd.

Takanobu looked over at Hinata, who had moved off to the side when Futakuchi had come over. The redhead gave him a wide smile in response.

“Go help your friends! I know I don’t know them but I want to make sure everybody gets home safely tonight too,” Hinata chirped.

Takanobu allowed himself another small smile.

“I enjoyed spending time with you; I’m sorry that it’s being cut short,” Takanobu said honestly, realizing that he had stuffed his hands nervously in his front pockets. Sort of, these pants were fucking _tight_.

It might have been the dim lighting, but Takanobu swore he saw a pink flush spread quickly across Hinata’s well-defined cheekbones.

He was treated to another dazzling smile, and then Hinata was stepping up to him, amber eyes shy as he jumped to press a feather light kiss to Takanobu’s cheek.

Takanobu didn’t think his jaw dropped, but he couldn’t deny the hotness in his face that bloomed from where Hinata had left his mark.

“Go help your friends!” Hinata repeated, pretending to shoo Takanobu away.

So Takanobu did as he was ordered, locking eyes with the redhead one last time before turning into the crowd and beginning to make his way upstairs.

It wasn’t until he and Futakuchi had successfully wrangled the drunk girls into their respective taxis home (Futakuchi was going to take the particularly drunk woman back to his Hiroko’s place to look after) and Futakuchi leered and said “Hey Aone, you and that shorty got along pretty well, huh?” that he remembered.

“SHIT!” Takanobu exclaimed, running full tilt back to the club.

But even when he slipped past the bouncer (“I forgot my glasses inside”) and scoured the club from top to bottom, Takanobu was out of luck.

The former Karasuno volleyball team members were gone, taking their energetic middle blocker with them.

And Takanobu had forgotten to ask for his number.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmmmm.... you know when you have writer's block? Yeah.........................
> 
> This took me a month to get out but here you go!

“Shit-!” Takanobu grunted as he spilled into his hand, collapsing even deeper into the mattress as his breathing began to even out, eyes unfocused and staring blankly up at the white of his apartment ceiling.

This was getting ridiculous.

It had been two weeks since he had danced with and almost (Takanobu’s cheeks blushed just slightly) kissed Hinata in that damn club. Takanobu wasn’t a stranger to waking up with morning wood, but the vigorous jerking off for the past _two weeks_ after coming out of his dreamscape to soaked bedsheets was becoming more than a little repetitive.

Takanobu glanced down at the cum-covered hand he had lazily dropped onto his abs. Maybe if he glared for long enough his dick would stop acting crazy.

Fuck, Takanobu thought angrily to himself as he let out a deep huff through his nose, it wasn’t like he was ever going to see the redhead again! Just because Hinata had grown up in the area didn’t mean he hadn’t moved away after high school; a lot of Takanobu’s own friends had ventured off to university and other pursuits after they had graduated from Date Tech. He wouldn’t be surprised if somebody as vibrant as Hinata had done the same. He needed to get this guy out of his head.

Takanobu pushed the back of his head further into his pillow, steeling himself to get up. His stomach and hand were already getting tacky; he needed to get off his ass and get his day started.

Unbidden, a flash of plush pink lips against his own cheek and a hot blush across pale cheekbones came to Takanobu’s mind, his softening cock giving a half-hearted twitch against his stomach.

Takanobu sat up, swinging his legs over the side of his bed, minding his right hand as he stood to his full height.

“Nope,” he said, making his way toward the bathroom.

Takanobu was going to go to a coffee shop today to do some reading and then stop by the plant store to buy some much-needed fertilizer. Maybe he would even take a walk through the park! He was _not_ going to spend another day lazing around inside being sad and jerking off to a cute guy’s firm little ass.

…But what an ass it was…

Takanobu stepped into the shower and turned the water on cold.

\--

Thirty minutes later Takanobu was out the door, leather satchel slung over his shoulder and dark green jacket thrown on to ward himself against the early spring chill. It was an overcast day, with many of the trees just beginning to bud out to seek their first sip of spring air.

This time of year was Takanobu’s favorite. There was a sort of anticipation to the typically melancholy weather; the easy awakening before a barrage of blooming foliage and bright sun.

His long strides took him easily down the road, morning bikers – parents with their kids and athletes alike – whizzing past him to enjoy their own adventures.

The local coffeeshop was anything but unique: it was a South Korean franchise with a basic assortment of drinks and baked goods. Takanobu had built up a bit of a reputation for himself, though; the manger was an older woman with graying hair who knew Takanobu by name and always gave him extra whipped cream with his order. Besides, it was a pleasant twenty-minute walk from his apartment and close to the plant nursery and local park – another couple of his favorite locations.

Arriving at his destination after another few minutes of walking, Takanobu folded himself through the door, a bell chiming just above his head as he was engulfed in the coffee-soaked warmth of the shop.

The store was, as usual, quiet this early on a Sunday morning; a gentle murmur of voices and occasional screech from the espresso machine providing its own lilting conversation to morning ears.

Takanobu stepped up to the counter, glancing up at the overhead menu out of habit. He always ordered the same thing – a vanilla latte with whip – but it never hurt to see if there was something that might tickle his fancy on a particular morning; the shop did the occasional seasonal drink.

Not today, however, Takanobu mused as he relayed his order to the chipper barista. Takanobu stepped off to the side, careful to avoid appearing like he was looming to the young employee. She was a small girl, probably still in high school. Still, she made Takanobu’s drink with practiced ease, soon sliding the drink along the counter to the man. She gave him a wide smile that he returned with his own nod before she moved to assist the next customer.

Takanobu turned on his heel and promptly almost dropped his freshly-made drink all over his shoes.

There, sitting in a plush velvet chair in the corner of the coffeeshop, sat none other than Hinata Shouyou.

Because of _course_ he was here, Takanobu grumbled to himself as he tried to steady his trembling hand. But what to do now? Should he walk over and say hello? Should he leave? Should-

Somebody off to his left coughed unobtrusively. Takanobu’s thoughts screeched to a halt as he jerked his head wildly toward the source of the outburst, locking eyes with a generic middle-aged man.

“Ahh, excuse me sir, you’re blocking the counter…” the man trailed off, looking expectantly at the taller, paler man.

Takanobu floundered for a second, then stepped back quickly – too quickly – he realized as he slammed his heavy form right into a trashcan.

The resulting bang was deafening in Takanobu’s ears as the small number of patrons perked up to identify the source of the noise, multiple sets of eyes pinning him with shorts bursts of surprised glances. Including… Takanobu reluctantly dragged his pale green eyes away from the man at the counter toward the other side of the shop.

Hinata Shouyou was looking right at him.

Takanobu felt a lot of things at once: a hotness in his cheeks, a clench in his gut, a surge of anxious energy racing through his body.

Hinata grinned and lifted a hand in an exuberant wave.

Well alright then.

Hinata was a million miles away and yet Takanobu was standing in front of him in a quick nine steps. The redhead was looking up at him expectantly, brown eyes glinting with mirth, still with that big smile plastered across his face.

“Hi Aone-san! It’s so nice to see you again! I remember Futakuchi mentioning that you two lived around here but I didn’t expect to see you so soon. How have you been? This is the first time that I’ve ever been to this place! Do you have any recommendations on the pastries? I’m technically supposed to be on a diet but it’s okay to have a cheat day once in a while, you know? I’ve been craving churros lately but it’s almost impossible to find them in Japan-” at this Hinata abruptly snapped his mouth shut, cheeks pinking as he dropped his gaze to the beige linoleum floor tiles.

“Ah… I mean…” the redhead trailed off, fingers coming to wind a twisting dance in his lap.

Takanobu felt like he was going to melt into the ground. Hinata certainly hadn’t been this chatty at the club so while the taller man was slightly thrown off, that red flush spreading across those pale cheekbones as Hinata seemed to literally bite his own tongue to keep from speaking… this man was _adorable_.

Takanobu easily folded himself into the plush armchair facing Hinata, setting his latte down on the low wooden coffee table separating the two. He was lucky he hadn’t cracked the cup handle with all of his anxious gripping.

“It’s very nice to see you again too, Hinata-san,” Takanobu replied earnestly, looking straight into those amber eyes.

Hinata rubbed the back of his head in what could only be embarrassment.

“Sorry about all of that at once, I’m trying to work on not overwhelming people with all of my talking,” Hinata chuckled.

Takanobu nodded. He couldn’t relate, but he could sympathize with where the shorter man was coming from. Too much silence could be overwhelming, too.

“You do not need to apologize for being yourself,” Takanobu said, heart stuttering for a beat when he saw – dare he say it – a _spark_ in Hinata’s lustrous eyes at his response.

“And I would recommend the chocolate croissants,” Takanobu continued, trying to will his fluttering pulse under control. “If you’re craving something sweet. I’ve never had a… uh… what was that word again?”

“Churro!” Hinata chirped, eyes lighting up with a memory. “They’re _amazing_ \- fried dough dipped in chocolate sauce - and they’re the best when they’re from the street vendors in Rio. They dump all of the dough into these big fryers like fwuaahhh and after just a couple of minutes they’re golden brown and ready to eat! I used to eat them every day for breakfast until I started gaining weight so then my roommate limited me to only one per week.”

Takanobu nodded seriously; these _churros_ did indeed sound delicious.

“What did you go abroad for?” Takanobu asked.

If he hadn’t been focusing so intently on Hinata, Takanobu might have missed the odd twitch that spasmed across the redhead’s face.

“Ahh just, umm, for something for work,” Hinata muttered, breaking eye contact for the first time since Takanobu sat down.

A minute of silence. Takanobu felt himself sweating. Hinata fidgeted with his own ceramic cup.

But then: Takanobu figured he was going to keep surprising himself if he kept hanging around Hinata, because he broke the deadlock on their conversation with a stilted “Are you happy to be back in Japan?”

Hinata perked up immediately.

“Absolutely!” he beamed; any lingering awkwardness cast off his shoulders.

“I’ll be in Miyagi for the next few weeks to see family and friends after being gone for so long. It’s nice to hear Japanese everywhere too; I was able to pick up some Portuguese while I was away but it can still feel kind of lonely, you know? When you want to talk about something but don’t have the vocabulary to express how you’re feeling. But I had this great roommate, Pedro, and he taught me a lot while I was there! I’m really grateful to have known him,” Hinata trailed off at that, brown eyes glazing over.

Takanobu let Hinata wander through his memories for a moment before responding.

“You’re very brave for going so far away all by yourself,” he said.

Hinata chucked, shaking his head of orange hair.

“Not brave, just a kid trying to prove himself,” Hinata paused.

“Ah, I just remembered! Aone-san, you played middle blocker in high school, right? Where did you go to school?” he asked.

“Date Tech,” Takanobu said, a kindling of fondness warming his chest. “My friend whom you met the other night, Futakuchi, also attended.”

“Oh no way, you were so close to us! We never got to play you though…” Hinata pouted. He seemed legitimately disappointed.

Takanobu felt his lips twitch into a small smile; this guy was too cute.

“Yes. If you had been one year older, we would have been able to play each other before the districts switched.”

“Oh, I see how it is, so it’s _my_ fault that we never got to match up against each other back in high school?” Hinata leaned back in his armchair, quirking an eyebrow as he folded his arms across his chest.

Takanobu blanched. “T-that is not what I meant, I-”

Hinata laughed suddenly, eyes sparkling.

“I’m just teasing, Aone-san! I’m sure it would’ve been an exciting match up if we had the opportunity. You would’ve been a great opponent to fight against! Do you still play volleyball?”

“Sometimes. There is a local league that a few older classmates invited me to a couple of years back. We actually placed second in the tournament last year,” Takanobu suddenly paused, a memory coming unbidden to his mind.

“That tall blond man who was with you at A.byss, Tsu-something? He attended the tournament as well.”

Hinata’s eyes bulged.

“HUH?!” the redhead screeched, turning more than few heads in the small shop. “Tsukishima played in a league tournament? That _asshole_ , he said he didn’t play anymore even after I begged him for a _week_ to play a game with me!” Hinata was full on pouting at this point, muscular arms still crossed tightly across his chest.

Takanobu didn’t want to dig the knife in any deeper but seeing Hinata so irritated was cute and, if he was allowing himself to be a little mean, funny.

“He played on the winning team. He was quite an adept middle blocker,” Takanobu told the grumpy redhead.

Hinata rolled his eyes so hard that Takanobu was afraid they would fall out of his skull.

“Of _course_ he did. He always liked messing with me in high school,” Hinata grumbled before a fond smile stole across his face. “I guess some things never change!” he laughed to himself, Takanobu chuckling along with him.

“What are you plans for the rest of the day, Hinata-san?” Takanobu asked. Hinata waved him off.

“Just Hinata is fine, I think we’ve gotten to know each other pretty well already, don’t you think?” Hinata winked.

Takanobu felt a warm… something in his chest.

“Yes, I suppose we have,” he smiled softly. Hinata beamed back (that damn _grin_ ).

“Honestly I didn’t really have any plans for today,” Hinata continued. “I thought about going for a bike ride and then remembered I don’t have a bike anymore so I figured I would just walk around to see if anything or anyone looked interesting!”

Futakuchi would tease him for being so slow, but a flash of inspiration nearly blinded Takanobu with excitement.

“I planned on stopping by the nursery this afternoon. If you do not have plans, you are welcome to join me,” Takanobu said.

Maybe he should have waited until Hinata was done taking that sip of his hot chocolate, because the smaller man immediately started choking on his still steaming drink.

Takanobu lurched halfway out of his seat, knocking his knees against the low coffee table with a bang before Hinata waved him off, coughing vigorously into his left elbow.

“You have – KIDS?!” Hinata was finally able to gasp out, slamming an open palm against his chest to try to dislodge any remaining liquid.

A strange feeling washed over Takanobu, some kind of emotion he had not felt in a long time (wow, was that really his life?).

And then he started laughing.

“Pl-plant nursery… a plan- plant store…” Takanobu choked out through hysterical gulps of air.

And then they were both laughing; deep belly laughs booming through the stale shop air as patrons around them stared aghast. It was ten in the morning on a weekend and a couple of twenty-something’s were both howling with mirth in a coffee shop.

Even with his good graces with the manager, Takanobu wasn’t surprised when they got kicked out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Listen.... I know the "nursery" joke wouldn't work in Japanese...but let me be....
> 
> No beta we die like men.


End file.
